Widely considered the most effective marketing medium, videos bring life to the brands that were once dependent on static and print. And whilst it has been hugely popular for the best part of a century, it has only grown more prevalent in recent years with the widespread uptake in smartphone and social media usage. For marketers, educators, and storytellers alike, video helps to engage with audiences in a far more immersive and memorable way. It can be formatted and stylised to specific guidelines, and most importantly, can simplify complicated messages comprehensively.
Cut forward to 2023, and we simply can’t get enough of it. We’re averaging a lengthy 95 minutes a day on TikTok, using YouTube to answer 1 in every 4 search queries, and collectively uploading 82 years of video content to YouTube daily. So, if you’re not doing everything in your power to make video work for your brand, you’re missing out on a sizeable opportunity.
Video can be used to suit a wide range of different formats and styles, from short-form social media content to long-form documentaries, making it a highly versatile medium that can be tailored to specific brand objectives. But with video being so widely consumed, we’ve grown to become connoisseurs of the moving image. Consumers have no time for slow starts, are becoming easily distracted, and can sniff out branded content a mile off. This shift in behaviour directly factors into the way that leading brands now develop their video content and should also factor into how you develop your own.
We’ve delivered short and long form video for high calibre clients across a variety of global markets. If you’re looking to leverage great video content for your brand, drop us a line today and let’s talk. No strings.
Discover more industry insights and opinions at saintnicks.uk.com/insights
Nine Tree Studios, a brand new 10,000sq ft film, television and commercial production studio, has opened in Bristol.
The studios are now Bristol’s largest independent film and television facility, with the venture being backed by JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company.
The studios will support Bristol’s creative industries as well as attracting talent and productions from further afield, fuelling Bristol’s existing draw for film, television and commercial productions.
The facility is being launched in phases. Phase one encompasses a versatile production space with attached offices, suitable for a range of dry hire and set build requirements, as well as events and photography, with significant parking for cars, vans and trailers.
Phase two will see the build and fit-out of a state-of-the-art production facility encompassing a 2,600sq ft primary soundstage, two smaller 300sq ft studios, grading suites, wardrobe, sound facilities, and expanded office and meeting space, all housed in a Class-A soundproofed facility.
Located in Brislington (BS4), the studios are perched near the centre of Bristol, servicing productions mixing studio and on-location filming in the region.
The facility will also become home to JonesMillbank, allowing productions to be supported by crew and creatives, whilst bolstering their own in-house production capabilities and resources.
“This is an incredibly exciting chapter in our history. We’ve been based in Bristol for 12 years, steadily growing our team, portfolio and clients, but this represents a huge leap forward and an incredibly exciting development for the region too” said Russell Jones, Co-Founder of Nine Tree Studios and JonesMillbank.
“We’ve already secured funding to develop and expand the space, helping to support not only our own productions but the wider creative community too”.
Adam Millbank, Co-Founder of Nine Tree Studios and JonesMillbank, added that “the continued growth in productions across our region is wonderful. I’ve been blown away by the diverse talent here. It feels fantastic to know we’ll be part of such a dynamic industry, celebrating all the region has to offer.”
The expansion will allow for the creation of numerous jobs, including technicians, crew, studio managers and marketeers, whilst allowing for the provision of work experience and placements.
Phase one has launched, with phase two aiming for 2023 Q3, pending existing bookings.
For booking and press enquiries please visit www.ninetreestudios.co.uk, call 0117 3706 372, or email [email protected].
JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company, has successfully won a contract with foodora, who are part of Delivery Hero, the world’s leading local delivery platform.
The project is focused on the foodora brand, promoting their culture, history and future through the stories of over a dozen long standing employees.
Filming is taking place across eight European countries including Finland, Norway, Slovakia and Austria.
“International travel was off the cards for so long and it’s fantastic to be given the opportunity to get back in the air again with a new client, exposing our productions and our team to other cultures” said Adam Millbank, Director at JonesMillbank.
“The project is benefiting from us doing what we do best; telling the individual stories of people from different walks of life, heritages and backgrounds with authenticity.”
Russell Jones, Director at JonesMillbank added: “We’re conscious of the environmental impact of all our productions, let alone ones that require multiple flights and cross-border trains. The nature of this project needed a travelling crew and we’ll be offsetting our impact via our friends at Ecologi.”
Delivery Hero operates its service in over 70 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
The company started as a food delivery service in 2011 and today runs its own delivery platform on four continents. Additionally, Delivery Hero is pioneering quick commerce, the next generation of e-commerce, aiming to bring groceries and household goods to customers in under one hour and often in 20 to 30 minutes.
Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Delivery Hero has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2017 and is now part of the MDAX stock market index.
For more information, please visit www.deliveryhero.com.
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JonesMillbank are a full-service video production company.
They work in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, telling authentic stories for a range of clients such as University of Bristol, IDLES, NHS England, The Royal Mint and Battersea.
jonesmillbank.com
01173706372
[email protected]
JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company, has successfully won a contract with University of Southampton to produce their flagship undergraduate campaign video.
The multi-channel campaign will launch ahead of the University’s 2024 recruitment campaign, bolstering and highlighting their existing reputation and global rankings.
JonesMillbank were invited to a competitive pitch for the opportunity, reflecting their growing experience, insight and reputation in the higher education sector. They join existing clients including the University’s of Bristol, Exeter, Winchester and Central Lancashire.
“We’ve worked in the education sector since day one and we absolutely love working with universities; the challenge of engaging and communicating with an ever-changing, dynamic audience is one our strategists and creatives relish” said Russell Jones, Director at JonesMillbank.
“University of Southampton chose us for our bold, creative and impactful concept, and we’re incredibly excited to be given the opportunity to bring it to life.”
University of Southampton is one of the world’s leading universities, placed in the top 100 universities globally in QS World rankings. They are also a founding member of the Russell Group, an organisation of 24 top UK universities committed to maintaining the highest research and teaching standards.
***
JonesMillbank are a full-service video production company.
They work in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, telling authentic stories for a range of clients such as University of Bristol, IDLES, NHS England, The Royal Mint and Battersea.
jonesmillbank.com
01173706372
[email protected]
Video production company Octopus Films has teamed up with the creators of Sooty, the much loved yellow TV bear, to produce a special Christmas music video. The video accompanies Sooty’s new single, a modern reworking of the Christmas classic ‘The Most Magical Time Of The Year’. All proceeds from the single will go to Childline, the NSPCC’s counselling service for children.
The video, featuring Sooty and pals Sweep and Soo, set against a snowy forest and festive funfair – marks the bear’s 75th birthday in 2023.
The video also marks Octopus Films’ first music video production. Giles Edwards, owner of Octopus Films, said:
“Producing a music video presented a unique set of challenges but it was great fun to be part of. We used lots of movement to create a cinematic feel and give the video a glossy edge. The team are honoured to be involved in a project which supports such a great cause”.
This Christmas, Childline’s dedicated volunteer counsellors will provide an essential role helping children and young people who may have nowhere else to turn.
Sooty’s Christmas single is available for download (£4) at magicaltime.co.uk and to stream on music platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, with all download and streaming proceeds donated to Childline.
Octopus Films creates impactful video content for businesses, organisations and charities across the South West.
ITV
Good Morning Britain ads cost around £3,000 – £4,000. Daytime slots on ITV are between £3,500 to £4,500 and peak time slots can cost from £10,000 to £33,000.
ITV is a great place to show your adverts. Shows such as Good Morning Britain offer one of the best commercial opportunities in the UK. Whether you’re planning a massive TV nationwide advertising campaign or trying to target a region, ITV advert slots can be purchased flexibly. ITV also has a range of family of channels which help campaigns hit specific demographics.
Channel 4
A typical 30-second slot on daytime Channel 4 can cost between £1,000 to £2,000 peak. Rates for a popular show such as Hollyoaks is around £10,000 to £20,000.
Channel 5
Channel 5 is a less expensive option with a slot in the daytime usually costing around £800 to £1,600. Peak time ad breaks can be had for £2,500 to £4,500 for shows like Big Brother.
Sky
The cost for advertising on Sky is lower than ITV. An ad slot in daytime shows on Sky costs around £150 to £250. Advertising during the peak time costs about £600 to £1,200. Sky Adsmart allows advertisers to target their ads to a select group of viewers.
Other digital channels outside of the Sky family can also be a great place to advertise your brand: Rates for smaller digital channels can be as little as £50 to £150 for day time up to £150 to £300 for peak time. If you know your audience is watching those channels then it’s a good option for a small budget.
You find our more at our TV advertising agency and discuss how to go about advertising on TV.
Grant Mansfield, CEO and Founder of Plimsoll Productions, an ITV Studios company, has been appointed a Visiting Professor for the College of Arts, Technology and Environment at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol).
In his new role Mansfield will be working with the University to help inspire the next generation of programme makers.
He said: “UWE Bristol is a wonderful University where it’s my privilege to serve as a Board Member and now a Visiting Professor. Under Professor West’s leadership, links with employers have been significantly strengthened, benefiting students as they seek employment: in my new role, I hope to highlight pathways, opportunities and the skills required for a career in the creative sector.”
Vice-Chancellor of UWE Bristol, Professor Steve West, added: “We’re honoured Grant is joining us as a Visiting Professor at UWE Bristol; as a Bristolian who has seen worldwide success within his industry his insight and exceptional talent will be invaluable to our students and staff.
Mansfield founded Plimsoll in 2013 and the company has grown rapidly since with a total workforce of more than 400 across its officers in Los Angeles, Bristol and Cardiff. Plimsoll’s BAFTA, Academy and Emmy Award-winning team specialise in wildlife, documentary, live and factual entertainment shows and is a global leader in natural-history programmes. In 2019, Mansfield led a process to sell a minority stake in Plimsoll to private equity Group LDC and in 2022 he spearheaded a majority stake sale to ITV Studios in a landmark deal, valuing the company at £131 million.
Plimsoll is behind more than 50 series, 14 live shows and seven films, including the James Cameron-executive produced and Benedict Cumberbatch-narrated Super/Natural for (National Geographic/Disney+), Emmy-nominated Hostile Planet with Bear Grylls (National Geographic), Night on Earth (Netflix), Tiny World (Apple TV+), Handmade: Good with Wood (Channel 4), Britain’s Parking Hell (Channel 5), Life at the Extreme (ITV), as well as the highly anticipated The Ascent with Alex Honnold (Disney+), among many more.
Before launching the company, Mansfield spent three years in Los Angeles as CEO of Zodiak USA. Previously, as Managing Director of RDF and, before that, Director of Programmes at Granada TV, Mansfield was the creative lead for two of the UK’s most successful production companies, producing shows as diverse as I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Coronation Street, Cold Feet, Ladette to Lady and Secret Millionaire.
Grant Mansfield was also one of one of eleven recipients of Honorary Degrees awarded by UWE Bristol in July 2022.
Octopus Films, the Bath video production company, has partnered with the University of Bath for the second year running to make a hard-hitting documentary to coincide with the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
ActNowFilm2 – like last year’s ActNowFilm – pulls no punches in showing the rapid escalation of climate impacts on people and places over the lifetimes of participants, in multiple locations across the world, and that now is the time for urgent action to stop climate change.
While ActNowFilm included clips from young people, ActNowFilm2 features younger and older generations from every continent, except Antarctica, in conversation, exploring how climate change is affecting them, their hopes and fears for the future, and how things have changed over their lifetimes.
It premiered at this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), where it received a very positive response.
ActNowFilm made its debut at last year’s GAUC Climate Youth Summit and was also screened at COP26 as well as at the UN Biodiversity Conference and Climate Week NY.
Octopus Films creative director Ellie Edwards said: “We were honoured to be part of this hugely important project. Climate change is an issue our team feels passionate about and our foundations in sustainable film production align so well to the ethos of the film.
Our hope is for this to be a powerful way of illustrating the impacts of climate change over the lifetimes of generations, and a way of giving a voice to those that would not normally heard.”
Based in central Bath, the full service video production company works with clients including Dyson, the BBC, the NHS and Cambridge Zero, Cambridge University’s response to the climate crisis.
UWE Bristol has unveiled its new immersive Sound Shower experience at Bristol’s Cribbs Causeway and Cabot Circus. Showing a mesmeric snapshot of campus life, the film was created by Skylark Media.
Filming took place at the university’s Frenchay campus and city with the support of student contributors. Multiple locations include the Atrium cafe, Centre for Sport, student union, library, as well as at the Arnolfini in the city centre.
Stephanie Lee, Marketing Communications Manager at UWE Bristol says, ‘This is a really exciting film project with Skylark Media where we’re creating a film for a specific sound shower unit which will sit in Cabot Circus and Cribbs Causeway shopping centres to promote the university and bring campus life to the people of Bristol, so they can get a real immersive experience and sense of what it’s like to study here on our campuses.’
Skylark Media MD Jo Haywood adds, ‘For a unique out of home experience, we came up with a fully immersive concept using an Insta 360 camera on an extendable pole. It sits within the stitch line which then becomes invisible in post-production. The result is a fully immersive film that mimics a FPV drone – flying around from location to location or locking into subjects for detail. Diegetic sound is added in so that the viewer can eavesdrop into those private moments.’
You can experience UWE Bristol’s immersive Sound Shower at Cribbs Causeway or Cabot Circus this month.
Samaritans is launching an ambitious fundraising campaign to get people talking about the ‘S’ word. The charity’s winter campaign, which runs from November through to January, includes a TV ad created by Skylark Media Bristol and Campfire Agency.
#BreaktheSilence is a fundraising campaign where Samaritans is calling on supporters to donate and share their support with others via their social platforms. The campaign includes a series of short videos featuring callers and listening volunteers and a television advert to run in unison with the campaign. Skylark was appointed to handle creative production which included all live action content and photography for the integrated campaign.
Bristol based Skylark Media MD Jo Haywood says, ‘Talking about mental health and supporting each other is important within the Skylark team. So we are delighted when the Samaritans asked us to deliver their winter campaign, #BreaktheSilence. We hope that the impact of the emotional storytelling in the TV ad, ‘Silence is painful’ and the authenticity of the callers and listeners in our short video series will encourage people who feel isolated to break the silence and reach out to the Samaritans this winter.’
Paul Power, Creative Director at Campfire Agency adds, ‘I know that all of us at Campfire Agency are proud to be working with Samaritans on their Break the Silence campaign – because silence really does cost lives. When you think that someone in the UK dies by suicide every 90 minutes, it brings it home how it important this winter campaign is.
With the cost of living crisis, it’s going to be a tough few months for so many people, so there couldn’t be a better time to launch these powerful communications, from DRTV and direct mail to digital and social.
With distinctive photography, powerful stories and hard-hitting messaging about suicide, we believe this integrated fundraising campaign will create an emotional connection with millions of people across the UK.
If it encourages one person who’s reaching crisis point, to start talking about suicide, then all the hard work will have been worth it. If we can raise nationwide awareness and essential funds for Samaritans on top of that, then we know the Break the Silence campaign has been the success we all hope for.’
Samaritans Executive Director of Income, Sonya Trivedy says, ‘The #BreakingtheSilence campaign is an opportunity to drive the conversation in these times of continued uncertainty, with issues such as loneliness, isolation and the cost of living crisis, meaning it could be a challenging winter for many people.
“Hopefully this new campaign will reassure people that Samaritans volunteers are here for people to talk to when they are ready to break their silence. Mental health, wellbeing and suicide are things that affect every one of us. With #BreaktheSilence we want this bolder messaging to encourage people to sit up, take notice and be moved to take action so that we can work towards our vision that fewer people die by suicide.‘
‘Silence is painful’ airs from 9th November on ITV Digital, Sky Media amongst other channels. The campaign runs until January 6th. For more information visit www.samaritans.org.